Unified Government breaks ground on second transit center

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority broke ground Wednesday, Sept. 19, on a multi-million dollar Transit Center at Indian Springs, 47th and State Avenue.

Unified Government officials said in a news release that the $4.5 million Midtown KCK MetroCenter would make transferring and waiting for bus connections more comfortable and convenient, and it also would help spur economic development throughout the corridor. When the transit center opens in August 2013, it will accommodate eight buses, and will be built to allow a future expansion to accommodate 12 bus bays if needed.

The transit center improvements include an 11,000 square foot facility that will feature the following:

• The Area Agency on Aging will relocate from 82nd & State Avenue to the new transit center.

• A Transit Community Space that will be available for community meetings and activities.

The Midtown Metro Center and a new Downtown Transit Center at 7th and Minnesota, on which construction began earlier this summer, are part of the new State Avenue/KCK Connex Line. The line will travel along a 14-mile transit route that begins at 10th and Main in downtown Kansas City, Mo., travels through downtown KCK and ends at Village West at 109th & Parallel Parkway.

With construction of the Transit Center underway, Unified Government officials also are moving ahead with plans to move city offices out of Indian Springs and tear down the mall. Unified Government operations are the only thing still open in the mall.

The Neighborhood Resource Center will move in early 2013 from Indian Springs to 4953 State Ave., the site of a closed U.S. Post Office. Half a dozen employees will be relocated there, including Liveable Neighborhoods; Code Enforcement; Rental Licensing; Building Inspection; Demolition; and Business Licensing. The Indian Springs Mall buildings are to be razed in February 2013. The Unified Government solicited redevelopment proposals for the site earlier this year and currently are reviewing them.